Rocky Fire Update And Realignment's Effect On Firefighting

Firefighters spray a hose at a fire along Morgan Valley Road near Lower Lake, Calif., Friday, July 31, 2015. A series of wildfires were intensified by dry vegetation, triple-digit temperatures and gusting winds.

Jeff Chiu / AP

The Rocky Fire outside Clearlake has grown to more than 67,000 acres but a change in weather has helped firefighters increase their containment of the blaze to 20 percent. NPR reporter Kirk Siegler is on the scene and joins us with an update.

Prison inmates have been a significant part of the state’s firefighting efforts for decades. But Cal Fire has been worried that court orders and new laws that are reducing the state’s prison population could create a big hole in its workforce. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Capital Public Radio’s Capitol Bureau Chief Ben Adler joins us to explain why.